Often in the production of parts, such as printed circuit boards, an array of such parts is produced in such manner that they are easily separable into individual parts by a stamping, routing, or similar process. The array of parts may be kept intact during such operations as parts stuffing, wave soldering, and the like, and may even be maintained in one piece through testing procedures. Eventually individual parts are separated from the array of parts and the individual parts are packaged for shipping.
In the past, prior art devices in the form of trays or similar configurations have been used to hold parts arrays for transport among various manufacturing or testing stations and operations. Separation of the parts arrays into individual parts generates scrap or waste which in the past has collected in the tray or other transporting apparatus. Thus, the individual parts must be separated from the tray in order that the waste materials may be discarded. The individual parts are then packaged for shipping, often in anti-static material shipping trays.
One example of a prior art approach to handling parts arrays and separating such parts arrays into individual parts in a manufacturing environment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,554 to Grabow. Grabow's system provides for liberating individual printed circuit boards from a multi-board panel by routing tabs, webs, or the like. The liberated boards and scrap generated by the separating operation are transported in a tray to an unloading station for removal of the liberated boards and scrap from the tray. Thus, labor must be expended in unloading the tray and in reloading the liberated boards into some other conveyance for further processing or for shipment. Labor costs in manufacture are a significant percentage of the total cost of manufacture; thus, labor costs present opportunities for saving manufacture costs. It would be advantageous if one could save labor in various areas of the manufacturing process.
It would, for example, be advantageous if a single tray or other apparatus could be used to convey an array of parts through at least a portion of a manufacturing process among a plurality of manufacturing or testing steps, including a step involving separation of the parts array into individual parts, without accumulating waste materials from such separation within the tray.
It would also be advantageous if the same tray could be used for conveying the array of parts and the individual parts through the manufacturing steps and stations and also serve as a shipping container for the individual parts upon completion of the manufacturing process.